GOING INTO HOSPITAL
Admission to Hospital
Anyone who is given an appointment for admission to hospital for surgery under anaesthetic should contact their local priest and ask to receive the Sacrament of the Sick before admission, as currently there is usually only a relatively short time between admission and surgery. (It may also be useful to inform the local chaplain in advance using the lists of Hospital Chaplains provided below.)
Anyone admitted to hospital unexpectedly (and kept in) is probably sufficiently ill to merit receiving the Sacrament of the Sick as a spiritual aid in their illness. Every hospital has a system for contacting the R.C. Chaplain urgently in emergencies. This is activated by the patient or family asking the nursing staff clearly to summon the Catholic Chaplain.
The same system may also be used to request a visit from the R.C. Chaplain, but the nurse should be asked to make it clear to the priest that it is not urgent.
Because of the way confidentiality rules are interpreted in most hospitals today, the Catholic Chaplain is often not informed of the admission of any Catholics, except as above, therefore the form below may be used to achieve this.
(Taken from the Western Catholic Calendar)